Feeding my corn snake 3 pinkies

Hi everyone! So I got my corn snake from the pet store (Don't judge me, I wasn't aware at the time that I should've got him from somewhere else) in December, and I love him! At the pet store, the lady told me that he'd been eating 3 pinkies every Sunday for his whole life. So I've been feeding him 3 pinkies every Sunday since then. He doesn't look "overweight", he's still very active, and I've had him for about 3 months now. I'm not sure how old he was when I got him. I feel like if I started feeding him less now (which is the advice I'm seeing as I've read some of the forums), he won't be as satisfied after each time that I've fed him. He's never regurgitated, he's fairly active at night and when I handle him. Is there a problem? I just bought like 50 pinkies from a mice breeder, so I cant't (or don't want to I guess) move on to fuzzies until I finish those. What do you guys think? I'm not sure how to weigh him or the pinkies, so I'm not sure what to tell you there.

I can't really address the issue well with the information you have provided. Three pinkies a week for a 300g animal would be abuse but not the case for a 18g one. In the wild snakes eat what they find without the dithering over size. An adult corn will eat an entire litter of mice as a meal or the mother, it's all just calories to her.
That said, if the animal is maintaining a proper body mass and you want to use all the pinks before you move up in size, you will probably need to feed more frequently to keep the animal on track growth-wise. Small meals are fine but I've found that young snakes satiate before getting the calories they would normally get from a bigger meal. Plus there is the calcium content issue with pinks vs more developed mice. Some snakes get conditioned to only eat smaller than optimal meals which creates problems down the road.

Terri

how much does the snake weigh?

Most of us follow a feeding schedule based on the size and weight of the snake.

10% to 13% of the snake's weight per feeding up to about 300 grams. And then at that point it's a 30 gram mouse on out.

So for example, a baby snake weighing 20 grams would eat a 2 gram pinky. A snake weighing about 80 grams would eat a 8 to 9 gram hopper. A snake weighing 200 grams would eat a 20 to 26 gram young adult mouse, and a snake 300 grams or larger would eat a 30 gram adult mouse.

Some folks refer to this as the "Munson Feeding Plan" and you can find in online as well as here in this forum.

Simply feeding your snake 3 pinkies at a time may or may not be a good idea. You stated you have had your snake 3 months, and we have no idea how old he was before you got him.

I'd seriously get a decent scale (a kitchen food type scale that measures in grams is best) and weigh your snake and start feeding him accordingly. Simply feeding him 3 pinkies a week is not going to work forever.

Originally Posted by crackerhead

I can't really address the issue well with the information you have provided. Three pinkies a week for a 300g animal would be abuse but not the case for a 18g one. In the wild snakes eat what they find without the dithering over size. An adult corn will eat an entire litter of mice as a meal or the mother, it's all just calories to her.
That said, if the animal is maintaining a proper body mass and you want to use all the pinks before you move up in size, you will probably need to feed more frequently to keep the animal on track growth-wise. Small meals are fine but I've found that young snakes satiate before getting the calories they would normally get from a bigger meal. Plus there is the calcium content issue with pinks vs more developed mice. Some snakes get conditioned to only eat smaller than optimal meals which creates problems down the road.

Terri

Hi, sorry I wasn't very clear. My snake is still small. I'm not sure how small exactly, but I'm planning on buying a scale soon. But definitely under 300 grams, I would estimate that he's under 5 months old.

Can you take a photo of him with something for scale?

Pet shops often have a bad reputation because they have multiple varieties of mammals and reptiles, and the employees are seldom knowledgeable on them all. However, I have several friends who breed snakes and own pet shops, so it is a mistake to lump every pet shop into the same category. If it is a pet shop that buys live animals from a wholesaler I wouldn't, and don't shop there. To get back to your original question, keep feeding your corn the 3 pinkies until you can answer the questions about size and weight. Many pet shops and breeders keep their sale snakes on a maintenance feeding schedule to minimize cost. You want to feed on a schedule to have your snake growing and shedding regularly. As the others have stated, more info is necessary.

Generally speaking, if it can eat 3 pinkies it can probably eat a fuzzy without any problems.

Originally Posted by Nanci

Can you take a photo of him with something for scale?

So I took some pictures of Sawyer! Here they are:



post an image

I also bought a scale, and he's 30 grams. I've looked at some of the feeding guides (like the Munson Scale), and it seems like most seem to think that 1 small fuzzy every 6-7 days is the appropriate amount for a snake the size of Sawyer. I think that, because I already have about 47 frozen pinkies left, I'll continue feeding him 3 pinkies every 7 days. They're pretty small pinkies. Then after I run out, I can start feeding him regular fuzzies. What do you guys think?

On another note, based on the picture, what is my snake's morph? I was thinking either regular or Okeetee?

Yeah, if you only have one snake I'd just churn through 'em until they're gone. Looks like a normal.

Excellent! Will you be buying him a multi-pack of fuzzies? You can sort them out and start with the smallest. I'd imagine after 25 fuzzies he'll be ready to go to hoppers. They don't stay on hoppers very long before going to weanlings.